I have been so spoilt this year. It's been awhile since I've had so many loved ones with me during this all-important festive season. I have to confess, I hardly did any cooking over the past two weeks. I did do quite a bit of eating, though!
It is a tradition in our family to have an extravagant steamboat spread on the eve of Chinese New Year for our reunion dinner. As most of our relatives reside in Malaysia, our Australian celebrations are never nearly as huge, but we did really, really well this year.
On Wednesday, I left work a little early, met up with Simon in the city, and together we trammed our way to my uncle's house.
The first thing I saw when I got there was my sister hollowing out tofu and her husband stuffing them with minced meat. What a cute couple!
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| tofu stuffed with minced meat |
I wandered off to the dining table to check out what else we would be tossing into the steamboat. Unsurprisingly, there were lots of seafood.
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| blue swimmer crab |
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| sea cucumber |
Lots and lots of seafood.
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| fish |
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| prawns and fishballs |
There was also chicken and pork.
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| chicken and pork |
And of course, a variety of vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, mushrooms and more. As the night went by, the soup stock became more and more delicious.
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| the final remnants of our steamboat |
I was incredibly full by the end of it. But I still had room for dessert. There's always room for dessert!
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sample this grass jelly drink with lychees and longans. It was all gone by the time I thought about getting myself a bowl...
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| grass jelly drink with lychees and longans |
Fortunately, that wasn't the only dessert option for the night - there was also water chestnut pudding that Simon bought from Breadtop, which happened to be very light and refreshing - just the thing after a big meal.
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| water chestnut pudding with osmanthus, from Breadtop |
And that's all for now... my schedule's been a bit of a mess, but once I get back into my routine, I'll be flitting about the kitchen and posting up recipes again! Once again, I wish you all a happy new year!
That is pretty awesome! Gong hei fatt choi!!
ReplyDeleteWell, then. It seems you've set the record for the dish that uses the most ingredients that I've never cooked with. And it looks incredible.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, gong hei fatt choi (I actually don't know what that means - I copied and pasted it from the previous poster. I'm guessing it means happy new year?)!
Happy CNY to you too. Loving the spread there. :) The osmanthus jelly is as cloudy as mine! I wonder how the HK-ers make it clear!
ReplyDeleteThanks Penny - hope you have a great year of the rabbit!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rich! It's a common greeting during Chinese New Year celebrations - it's basically saying congratulations and wishing prosperity.
Thanks Michelle! I think the water chestnut flour makes it cloudy. Cloudy and delicious. :D
What a spread . . . and what a nice tradition. Hope the rabbit brings us all good luck this year. I'm jealous of all that beautiful fresh seafood.
ReplyDeleteWow nice feast!
ReplyDeleteHappy Lunar New Year to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! That is quite the spread :D
ReplyDeleteGong Xi Fa Cai to you and family. Wishing you and your family good health and lots of happiness and every good things in abundance like the those delicious foods in the photos.
ReplyDeleteGong Hei Fatt Choi and Happy Yan Yatt :) Love the steamboat!!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope your New Year was lovely!
ReplyDelete